Boys basketball: Winning remains goal at Ponder

PONDER — In the Ponder High School gym,
the four large outlines of the state of Texas representing four boys’
basketball state championships serve as daily reminders to this seasons’ squad
of the allure that comes with winning.

The entire Ponder boys’ basketball
program from seventh grade to varsity knows what it’s like to succeed, as every
team claimed at least a share of the district championship this season.

So when head coach Jude Stanley and the
Lions travel to Stephenville for the Class 2A Region II semifinals at 8 p.m.
today, the Red Oak Life Mustangs will represent the first of four final steps
back to the state tournament.

“That’s always our goal is to win
championships,” Stanley said. “A lot of years, we have, and some years, we
haven’t. Just because we fall short one year, we aren’t going to readjust our
expectations. They are always high here, and [the players] step up to the
challenge.”

For the 29-9 Lions, their list of goals
ends with state championships, but when they started the season, they had
milestones they wanted to accomplish along the way. They wanted to win 25
games. Check. They wanted to be district champions. They tied Brock, the Texas
Association of Basketball Coaches’ No. 5-ranked team in 2A, for the District
9-2A title at 11-1.

Ponder had a bye in the bi-district
round and then tussled with Sunnyvale to a 59-53 double-overtime victory. After
not playing up to their top level in their opening playoff game, the Lions then
defeated Peaster 56-42, after which Stanley graded his team’s execution an A.
With two games under their belts, this year’s team is beginning to believe.

“They are starting to see that,
especially in the last game, that we have a chance to win it all,” Stanley
said. “We said at the start of the season that we can beat anybody in this
region and we can be beat by anybody in the region. So we are respectful of
that, and I think that keeps us hungry.”

At Tarleton State University, Ponder
will have another opportunity in the regional semifinals to check off another
goal of 30 wins on the season. If the Lions knock off Red Oak Life, they will
face the winner between their district nemesis, Brock, and Mount Pleasant
Chapel Hill at 2 p.m. Saturday in Stephenville.

“They are a very talented team,” Stanley
said of the 33-6 Mustangs. “They got beat this round [last year] so they are
going to be hungry. They’ve got some guards who can get up and down the floor.
They’ve also got a big man inside who’s not incredibly tall, but is smart,
quick and strong. They are also coming off a big upset of Clarksville, which
was one of the favorites last year.”

If the sixth-ranked Lions are going to
accomplish that last aspiration, their defense is going to be the ink in the
pen that marks it off the list.

“Defense is going to win championships,”
Stanley said. “That’s what put those championships on the wall. We’ve had some
great offensive teams and we’ve had some great offensive players, but the kids
know if you want to get up on that wall, if you want to get on that state of
Texas, it’s going to be with solid defense.”

For a defensive-minded team,
communication and an overall connection are crucial to its success unlike an
offensively geared team that can be carried several different ways. For the
Lions, the trust the players have developed among them this year is one of the
main reasons they are in the position to win their fourth state championship in
the past six years.

“They come in and work hard every day,”
junior Clay Morgan said of his teammates. “They are good leaders on the court
and off the court, and they are good friends, too. I think we have a lot more
team chemistry than we did last year. It helps you trust other guys and you know
what they are going to do.”

Stanley said he thinks the team’s
cohesion began back in the summer.

“Our team has developed into a
close-knit, family atmosphere,” Stanley said. “I think a lot of it started in
the summer when they won the Oklahoma team camp. It was the first time we had
won that particular team camp since we had been going there. That’s a real
important time for those guys to try to bond and get the team together.”

Stanley knows what it takes to win
championships, as he was the assistant coach for the 2001 championship team
before leaving and returning as head coach of the 2010 championship team. But
Stanley said the family atmosphere and overall success couldn’t have been
possible without the expertise of assistant coaches Steve Young and James Holt,
who were assistants on the 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams.

“You talk about game planning; Steve
Young is the best guy, as far as breaking a team down and knowing what an
opponent is going to do, in the business bar none,” Stanley said. “These guys
know how to work with kids. It’s important, that behind every great team,
you’ve got great coaches. Not just a head coach. These guys have been here for
a long time for a reason.”

Kade Copp, who fulfilled the Lions’ team
scoring needs with a team-high 17 points in their win over Peaster, said the
team’s ears really start to perk up at this time of the season.

“We are just trying to take in what the
coaches say,” Copp said. “Usually, everybody thinks, ‘we can do it.’ But as the
season goes on, the coaches play a huge, huge part. We just take in every
single word.We have six seniors and this is our last year. He [Stanley] wants
to keep the road going for seniors.”

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